Thank your Mentor Day!

Today, January 26, 2012, is National Thank your Mentor Day! It seemed like a great time to turn to the students in the icouldbe.org program and find out what they have to say to their mentors.

Below is a selection of letters from mentees to their mentor in honor of Mentoring Month and Thank your Mentor Day. Their responses are truly touching and remind us that they are the reason we celebrate this month.

How are you thanking your mentor today?

A wordcloud of the letters from icouldbe.org mentees.

Dear leftyonly:

Thanks for everything you have taught until now.  You have given great evidence to me that I greatly accept.  With your help, I know that I can reach my job interest.  With you, I will be able to excel like you did.  I can’t show enough gratitude that I have because of your information.  I know that because of you I am prepared.

Your mentee, Junior 704

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Dear Team2win and Ms. Maria:

I thank you for mentoring me, and teaching me new things that I needed to know.  You taught me the ways I need to go to achieve my goals. Thank you for taking your time to mentor me. It is because of you that I know what jobs I want to do when I get older.  Having a mentor is good for me because they show me the way to go.

Nashare704

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Dear Mentor:

Thank you for being my mentor.  I would like you to write to me.  If we talked, I would answer all your emails and I will ask you a few questions.  Any advice you will give me I will try to achieve it. I would like to be an artist or dancer.  I could see by looking at your profile that you could give me good advice.

Kayla704

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Dear volunteer9:

I would like to thank you for your assistance.  I thank you for commenting on my work and telling me how I could do better.  Please help me get into Princeton, Harvard or Yale, similar to what you did for college.  Could you please email me things that could be further help to me?  Thank you for your time.

Marino 704

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erdoc11,

I really appreciate having a fantastic mentor like you! A student, especially during their junior and senior year, cherishes having someone to guide them throughout school. Your advice and advocacy has undeniably helped make decisions towards my future. One of the great aspects of having you as a mentor is that I have also became a more ecstatic and optimistic person. I am undeniably looking forward to having you as a mentor during my senior year as well.

With much gratitude,

Soyunhorcrux

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Dear Mentor,

Thank you so much! You have been a GREAT person to me and of much help!

Recently you told me that I should research things about documentaries in history and I think that a great idea. I’m wondering, how did you find out about this website? But yeah, this has been a great experience so far. I find it really gnarly that some people care about students and help them achieve what they want in life. I think it is also cool that you take time off your day and do this! So I hope you and your family and friends are doing great, and have a good day – and week – and month!

Sincerely, basedgod.

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Dear Mentor,

The purpose of this email is to thank you for being my mentor. I want to let you know that I really appreciate what you do for me because not many people take time to do what you do. I’m glad to have a mentor like you, because with your help more doors to opportunities are going to open for me and for that I thank you.

Sincerely, Chris

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I really appreciate you taking the time to review my work. It is very helpful and I really enjoy your feedback. Thank you so much for all your help, I believe that the information you provide will help me become a better person. Hope you’re having a good day!

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Hey, I just wanted to say thank you so much for taking your own time to be my mentor. I have really learned a lot and you have encouraged me to go into what I really want even more. I have learned a lot about what it takes to go into medicine and I am very grateful for that. I hope you could keep being my mentor and keep giving me great advice. Thanks a lot. 🙂

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Thank you for being such a great mentor, I really appreciate all the help and advice you’ve given me, it’s been a lot of help.  I want to say thanks for always reviewing my work so fast! I have a really good grade thanks to the fact that you review my work fast so I can move on. I’m really thankful for you, and I hope we can keep our relationship growing bigger and bigger.

Happy national mentor month!

Sincerely, liz25

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Happy National Mentor Month!!

I just wanted to say thank you for all your support and advice. You’ve really helped me think about my future and what I want to do with it. Thank you for helping me understand what I’m doing wrong or what I’m not doing to prepare myself for college. I really appreciate it and don’t know what I would have done without having questions answered, talk to you soon.

— Jess9

Follow along with the 2012 National Mentoring Summit

Today begins the 2nd annual National Mentoring Summit in Washington, D.C.! This year’s theme is Invest in the Future: Mentor a Child.

MENTOR lists a schedule of events here, which includes an update from First Lady Michelle Obama on the Corporate Mentoring Challenge she issued last year.

Follow along with us on Twitter for updates, quotes and important moments from the 2-day event. And don’t forget to use hashtag #MENTOR2012 to join in!

Mentor Spotlight: Chasity L.

“Working with students at icouldbe.org is truly a blessing! I feel that the work I do with them is more than just an assignment, it is a way to pass on information that could impact the rest of their life. More importantly, every email and every interaction that I have with each of my wonderful mentees is an opportunity to let them know there is someone out there who cares about them, who cares about their future, their well-being, and what is going on in their everyday life.

Every young person is impressionable and we have the ability to be a good example for them during this challenging part of growing up. It is so rewarding to have my mentees thank me for the time I give and tell me how important I am to them. Giving our time to others is one of the most special ways we can let them know how much we care.

Another reason I love being a mentor on icouldbe.org is because they make it possible for mentors to reach students all across America through their unique and brilliant use of technology!

“For while they are the youth of today, they shall be the leaders of tomorrow” -John F. Kennedy “

Mentor Spotlight: Matthew H.

It is my goal to inspire, encourage, and guide young men and women towards the future they want for themselves, regardless of where they come from. I love reading about what gets my mentee excited, it helps me gently guide them towards their passion, or even help them discover they have a passion. The feeling I get when I know I’ve genuinely helped a mentee (or anybody for that matter) really helps me appreciate my own life even more. Watching a timid, unsure young person grow to make firm, confident decisions is rewarding beyond words. It’s a feeling that every human should experience; if you aren’t helping someone now, what’s holding you back?

Thanks for this opportunity, getting involved with this program was not about recognition, it was an attempt to better myself through the action of helping others. Thanks again, for this amazing program!

Mentor Spotlight: Christopher P.

It is truly my privilege to work with icouldbe.org. I believe that today’s youth should be provided with as much information about opportunities as possible.  At this stage in their lives, just about anything is possible.  I try to convey that to them while providing some insight from my past experiences.  I want them to understand that life is not necessarily easy or always fun.  However, they will succeed as long as they are working towards a goal and that each accomplishment opens doors to other opportunities.  My favorite quote by Joel Osteen summarizes my approach to mentoring, “If you can see the obstacles, then you have lost sight of your goals.”